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Pheidole amabilis
| Pheidole amabilis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species: | P. amabilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Pheidole amabilis Wilson, 2003
| |
According to Longino (1997), amabilis occurs in wet forest. Nests have been found in Cecropia sapling internodes, in foliar pouches of a myrmecophytic melastome, and in a dead stick in leaf litter. The colony in the dead stick was separated from a colony of Pheidole scrobifera by a plug of woody frass; fighting between the two species ensued when the plug was removed. (Wilson 2003)
Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Reported from the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica to 1100 m. (Longino 1997).
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 16.974° to 10.33333°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Costa Rica (type locality), Mexico.
Distribution based on AntMaps
Distribution based on AntWeb specimens
Check data from AntWeb
Countries Occupied
| Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species. |
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Estimated Abundance
| Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species. |
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Biology
Castes
Worker
Minor
Images from AntWeb
    
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| Paratype Pheidole amabilis. Worker. Specimen code casent0610089. Photographer J. Russ, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by INBC. |
Major
Images from AntWeb
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| Holotype major Pheidole amabilis. Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code inbiocri002279941. Photographer J. Russ, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by INBC. |
Queen
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Paratype Pheidole amabilis. Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0610090. Photographer J. Russ, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by INBC. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- amabilis. Pheidole amabilis Wilson, 2003: 369, figs. (s.w.) COSTA RICA.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
A medium-sized, concolorous yellow species whose major is distinguished by the slightly concave profile of the posterior half of the head capsule; also possessing a carpet of dense, evenly short, forward-projecting, subdecumbent (45°-angled from surface) hairs on the posterior half of the head and occiput; weak but distinct mesonotal convexity; and short, nearly vertical propodeal spines.
Similar to Pheidole angulifera, Pheidole boliviana, Pheidole crinita, Pheidole melastomae, Pheidole mixteca, Pheidole scitula, Pheidole terresi and Pheidole tysoni but readily distinguished by the above traits as well as by various differences in sculpture and color.
MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.94, HL 1.14, SL 0.52, EL 0.14, PW 0.48. Paratype minor: HW 0.60, HL 0.66, SL 0.60, EL 0.14, PW 0.36.
COLOR Major: concolorous medium yellow.
Minor: gaster dark yellow, rest of body medium yellow.
Figure. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.
Type Material
COSTA RICA: Rio Peñas Blancas, Alajuela, 10°19'N 84°42'W, 800 m, J. T. Longino. Museum of Comparative Zoology
Etymology
L amabilis, lovely.
References
- Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 369, fig. major, minor described)
- Camargo-Vanegas, J.J., Guerrero, R.J. 2020. Las hormigas Pheidole (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) en el bosque seco tropical de Santa Marta, Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Entomologia 46(2): e8433 (doi:10.25100/socolen.v46i2.8433).
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944